Donovan McNabb wants to return to the NFL

Quarterback Donovan McNabb seen during the 2009 NFL season. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Free agent quarterback Donovan McNabb wants to return to the NFL in 2012, and he thinks there is a “80 to 90 percent” chance that he will.

“I do want to play,” McNabb told NBC SportsTalk on Thursday. “The most important thing is I have about three teams I’m looking at.  (I) won’t name those three teams.”

McNabb is considering playing for a Super Bowl contender in 2012, as was former running back LaDainian Tomlinson, before he retired two weeks ago.  Like Tomlinson, McNabb may have trouble finding mutual interest.

The Broncos never offered Tomlinson a contract and have “no interest in McNabb,” according to a source close to the team.  Denver currently has Adam Weber, rookie Brock Osweiler and Caleb Hanie behind starter Peyton Manning on the roster.

When Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy was placed on the trading block a few weeks ago, Denver was rumored among his possible destinations.  But the Broncos haven’t made an offer for McCoy and seem to be an unlikely team to pursue McNabb.

As ESPN‘s Adam Schefter noted, McNabb may be interested in three teams, but those three teams probably aren’t interested in him.  “When last season ended, there was not a team interested in Donovan McNabb,” Schefter said on Sports Center Friday afternoon.

“When free agency opened this year and McNabb was eligible to be signed even before free agency started, there wasn’t a team out there that was interested in McNabb.  He is going to be selective about the team he goes to — if there is mutual interest — and it may take an injury during training camp this summer before McNabb gets another opportunity,” continued Schefter.

Entering his fourteenth season, McNabb has thrown for 37,276 yards and 234 touchdowns during his career.  Over the past two seasons, McNabb has spent time with the Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings, active in 18 games after spending the first ten years of his career in Philadelphia as a starter.

McNabb, 35, is not looking for a backup role so Denver probably isn’t among the three teams he is currently interested in.  But the Broncos do meet McNabb’s requirements of a team that has a “solid running game, weapons on the outside, a defense that’s been playing well and playing well together, and that’s ready to win right now.”

Denver is ready to “win right now” with Peyton Manning.  So unless an injury happens somewhere in the NFL, McNabb likely won’t be joining the Broncos — or any other team in the league anytime soon.